Getting into the algo-rhythm - 10 tips for a fab Facebook page
Goodbye holidays and sun and fun. Hello traffic and 9-5. Welcome back to the daily grind. Now that a few of you are back at work, it’s time to talk about your marketing efforts, namely your Facebook business page, because - newsflash - Facebook algorithms have changed AGAIN! Here's a few tips and tricks to beat the algorithms and have a rocking FB bizzo page in 2018. Bonus - can also be applied to Instagram too. 1. invest in video
Some amazing vid stats to mull over
- Videos on Facebook see an average of 135% more organic reach than images
- Facebook users spend 3x more time watching live videos than a video that’s no longer live
- They also comment more than 10x more during live videos.
Annnd Mark Zuckerberg dropped this bombshell just last Friday:
“One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent.
Video and other public content have exploded on Facebook in the past couple of years. Since there's more public content than posts from your friends and family, the balance of what's in News Feed has shifted away from the most important thing Facebook can do - help us connect with each other.
Based on this, we're making a major change to how we build Facebook. I'm changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.
As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media. And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard -- it should encourage meaningful interactions between people.
Now, I want to be clear: by making these changes, I expect the time people spend on Facebook and some measures of engagement will go down. But I also expect the time you do spend on Facebook will be more valuable. And if we do the right thing, I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.
At its best, Facebook has always been about personal connections. By focusing on bringing people closer together -- whether it's with family and friends, or around important moments in the world -- we can help make sure that Facebook is time well spent."
Pass me the camcorder.
2. Post short / fun-to-read copy
People's lives are busy. Attention spans are short. Notifications from everywhere are rife. So make sure your words get to the point. Quickly! And make it fun while you are at it. Ain't nobody got time for loooong winded copy.
3. Include eye-catching images
If you can, invest in a good photographer!
Nice clean images are e v e r y t h i n g on social media. It is also a good reflection of your brand standards. And people are more likely to respond to an amazing image of a coffee/animal/product/place/whatever over a blurred mess.
4. Great headlines / creative content
Headlines pique interest. Great headlines will see the reader even take action. You also have just 3 seconds to capture the reader, So make it count! Investing in a social media manager who is savvy with words [ahem, cough cough Neon Moose! #shamelessplug] is your best bet - you'll never have to obsess over a facebook or instagram post again!
5. Don’t be too promotional
Guess what? FB users hope on FB to interact with family and friends, not to be marketed to! Same goes for Instagram.
Facebook's algorithm favours posts that aren't too promo-y. So keep the hard sell to a minimum and if you do want to make it marketing focused, then throw some money behind it for further reach.
6. Give your followers what they want
Make sure you are producing the best content relevant to your business but also relevant to your followers. If in doubt, try the 80 / 20 rule:
80% of content that really interests your audience and engages them and 20% of content about your brand.
7. Check your analytics of best time to post
Repeat after me - analytics are your friend.
All channels have an in depth analysis of when, who and where your audience is. Use it!
Also all channels have ideal posting times. It's said Facebook is daily between 1pm - 4pm with the peak time of Wednesdays at 3pm, while Instagram is 8-9am, 2am and 5pm, with Monday being peak day.
8. Aim for shares on your post to increase organic reach
These days, followers and likes are simply vanity metrics. That main aim of your posts should be about organic reach [and beating that pesky algorithm!].
9. Connect with your audience
Engage. Ask questions. Social media is a two way street. It's not called 'social' media for nothing!
Respond to inquiries. Answer questions. Comment back on comments. If you are on Instagram, follow people. Spend 5 - 10 minutes per day interacting. Whatever you do CONNECT! with your audience.
Because as per the new algorithms, meaningful social interactions will triumph.
10. Make sure your 'About Us' section is well written and on point.
More people are using Facebook and Instagram as a search engine. Of course the About Us or the instagram profile page is one of the first things they read when they land on your page - so make sure it's well written and on point.
No time for the above? Neon Moose can help. Check our social media packages here.
